


The Art of Falling in Love

by shadowqueen



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Custom MC, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, V Route Spoilers, V's After Ending, i.e. V doesn't tell MC he loves her yet, very slight canon divergence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-07-14 09:30:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16037690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowqueen/pseuds/shadowqueen
Summary: You’re a school teacher who has to complete one more semester of teaching before you can secure a job overseas, but you’re uninspired and out of fresh ideas for your class. When RFA’s founder Jihyun Kim makes an unexpected reappearance at the fundraiser party, you find out he’s become the painter and artist he always dreamed to be. Wanting to reconnect with him, you ask him to teach you in the craft of art in the hopes that it will spark your creative side and help you land the job of your dreams....However, you didn’t expect that learning art was also learning how to fall in love.(V's After Ending)





	1. The Party

**Author's Note:**

> This is an interpretation V’s Good Ending. Creative license disclaimer, though: in this version, V doesn’t tell MC that he loves her at the RFA party. Which may be a controversial choice, but this is so I can explore how two people who haven’t seen each other for two years get to know each other all over again and fall in love. Hello, slow burn. Everything else is more or less canon compliant.
> 
> I’ve decided to give MC/Reader a name for narrative purposes. I guess she is a “custom MC,” so she has her own motivations and personality. However, her POV will be in 2nd person ~~(unless people prefer 3rd?)~~.
> 
> Lastly, before you read this, I *strongly encourage* you to read my one-shot "[Beginning](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12981705).” I think it makes a good prologue for this fic (and there’s an important reference to it in this first chapter).

There was a single unopened email in your inbox. It had been delivered over an hour ago, but you’d been so busy getting ready for the RFA party that you hadn’t had any time to look at it.

That was what you told yourself anyway. In actuality, you were avoiding it like the plague.

Gripping a mascara wand in a shaky hand, you swiped it through your eyelashes as you leaned close into the mirror and tried very hard not to accidentally jab yourself in the eye. When you were done, you stepped back and gave yourself a long look. You smoothed down the sides of your blue dress, then fixed your hair. You inhaled a deep breath, closed your eyes, and exhaled.

“You can do this,” you said to yourself. You opened your eyes and regarded yourself in the mirror once more. “You can open a damn email. You do it all the time.”

You were the guest coordinator for RFA and a school tutor. Reading emails was about the  _only_  thing you did these days. You were just too nervous to read  _this_  one.

You breathed in and out again. Everything would be fine. You had to tell yourself so.

Just then, your phone pinged and vibrated, and the sound startled you, sending a new flutter of nerves through your chest. You sighed and walked over to sit in your desk chair and read the RFA chatroom notification on the lock screen. The time was a little after ten o’clock in the morning, which meant you had less than two hours until the party started.

You opened the chatroom in the RFA app and everyone greeted you at once.

> **Yoosung★:**  HEY!
> 
> **ZEN:** Good morning, MC
> 
> **707:**  Yo MC! We were just talking about you
> 
> **MC:** _Hey, guys_.

MC wasn’t actually your name, but ever since you had first introduced yourself to the RFA members as “MC” for the sake of your own safety and privacy, they had continued calling you that, even though you’d told them your real name by now. MC became their nickname for you, which you didn’t mind.

> **Yoosung★:**  MC, where are you?? You’re the only one not here!

“I’m busy trying not to freak out, Yoosung,” you whispered to yourself, but you didn’t want to say so in the chat and alarm anyone.

> **MC:**  Sorry, still at my apartment. I’ll be there soon. I just have to take care of a few things.
> 
> **707:** Take care of things, eh? Sounds suspicious.
> 
> **MC:** Very. I’ll tell you all about it later.

Seven sent his shocked, gasping emoji. In turn, you sent back one of your own emojis: a chibi version of yourself, winking an eye while pressing a coy finger to your lips. It was one of your favorite emojis of yourself, you had to admit.

> **ZEN:**  She’s probably just taking a long time getting ready. It’s okay. I did too, but I made sure to wake up extra early this morning to accommodate~

You chuckled and liked his message, which sent a pastel pink heart fluttering across the screen. Even though it had been over a year since Seven gifted you with your own emojis and heart, seeing them among everyone else’s never failed to thrill you. Sometimes you still couldn’t believe you were part of such an amazing group of people.

Your eyes lifted from your phone, and your gaze landed on your laptop screen. Your inbox was entirely clear, save for that one email, and it stared back at you, taunting you. Unease twisted through your stomach.

 _Fuck it._ You had to get it over with. It was an important day, not just for you, but for everyone in RFA, because it was your first fundraising party in two years. You couldn’t attend with this uncertainty looming over you the entire time.

> **MC:** Okay, I’m on my way. See you all soon!

You logged out of the chatroom and put your phone down. Then you leaned closer to the laptop and clicked on the email.

> _Dear Mirae Chi,_
> 
> _Thank you for your interest in the Global Children’s Alliance and applying for the Elementary Tutor Abroad Program. After extensively reviewing your resume and recent interview performance with our staff, we are proud to offer you a position with our organization. Your assignment, should you accept after completing the necessary requirements, will begin in January of next year._
> 
> _Upon your acceptance, we will give you more details about your assignment and location. We are currently looking to fill positions at our international schools located in Ecuador, Morocco, Mozambique, and Thailand. If you have any preference on where you would like to be assigned, we would be happy to try and accommodate._
> 
> _Please respond at your earliest convenience. We look forward to hearing from you, and welcome to the team!_
> 
> _Dowon Chen_
> 
> _GCA-Korea Human Resources Manager_

As you read through the email, your hands clamped over your mouth. Was this real? Did you really read that correctly?

The Global Children’s Alliance, the foreign teachers’ program you had dreamed and wished to work at, offered you a job?

“Oh my god!”

A flood of mixed emotions overwhelmed you—relief, nervousness, determination, uncertainty—so much that tears started welling in your eyes. You held them back because you didn’t want your mascara to run, so instead, you smiled, your grin so wide that it made your cheeks hurt. Your pulse raced in excitement, and you knew you had to carry that enthusiasm into the party. You stood, grabbed your things, and headed out the door.

This was what you’d spent the last two years working toward. After the traumatizing events you underwent with Mint Eye, it took a long time for you to feel like you were in control of your own life again, and to discover your path. But with the help of your new friends in RFA, and months of self-reflection and healing, you found it.

This was your path. It had to be.

You couldn’t wait to tell everyone the good news.

*** * ***

You thought this day would never come, but here you stood at the front hall, welcoming guests to the first RFA party in over two years.

“Mr. Kang!” you said when you saw a man walk through the entrance. You approached him and extended your hand. “I’m so glad you were able to make it. I’m Mirae Chi, the RFA guest coordinator. We’ve been in contact through email.”

“Ah yes,” said Mr. Kang. He shook your hand, then smoothed down his scraggly brown hair. “So you’re Mirae, huh?”

You smiled and nodded. Even though Mirae was your given name, hardly anyone ever called you that, especially your family and closest friends. It wasn’t a unique name by any means, but it felt more like a professional name to you, a name only reserved for those unfamiliar to you.

“Nice to meet you, finally,” Mr. Kang said. “Some of my colleagues should be here shortly.”

You took a quick glance at his attire—brown leather jacket and blue jeans—and you wondered if his colleagues would arrive dressed similarly. He must have skimmed over your memo that the party was a formal occasion, but you wouldn’t dare criticize the president of the Fair Film Festival Committee on his wardrobe. You had a fundraiser to run, and you couldn’t risk offending any potential donators.

“Wonderful!” you said, and you handed him a booklet from the stack in your arms. “This is the speaker list. Now, if you head through these doors”—you pointed to the large double doors behind you—“you’ll be seated at table number thirty-four. When your colleagues arrive, I’ll direct them to you. Please take the time to read through the booklet while you wait. There’s some important information regarding any donations you may consider making. Let me speak on behalf of RFA and say that we’re so grateful you’ve decided to join us today.”

Mr. Kang thanked you with a beaming grin and headed through the doors.

The party was set to start in a little under fifteen minutes, and you were overwhelmed with the amount of guests that had shown up. They walked through the entrance almost consecutively, and you had to call Seven for backup. You stood on either side of the double doors to the banquet hall, greeting guests in turn, handing them booklets, and showing them to their tables.

Never in your wildest dreams had you thought this party would be this successful, especially considering the bad press the last RFA party had received two years ago when Rika nearly coerced everyone to drink her special spiked wine. Fortunately she was arrested and taken away before any harm could be done, but the damage to RFA’s reputation was a huge blow to you and your friends. It took two years of hard work, making new connections and regaining the trust of old ones who would give you the chance. As busy as each member had gotten in dealing with their own personal lives, you still managed to come together on a daily basis in the RFA chatrooms, and somehow you were all finally ready to host a party again.

“Did you really invite all these people?” Seven said when most of the guests had arrived and the bustle in the foyer was finally settling down. He dramatically wiped a nonexistent bead of sweat from his brow.

“Sure did,” you said. “To be honest, I’m surprised so many of them showed up. I was banking on maybe half. People always sound so polite and cordial in email, and they say they’ll come when in reality they actually hate your guts and wouldn’t come if you paid them.”

“I doubt anyone hates your guts, MC. It’s impossible. You’re too sweet. And kind. And smart.”

You rolled your eyes. “Please, you make it sound like I’m perfect.”

“Well, you’re a terrible cook, so you’re definitely not perfect.”

Your mouth fell open, affronted.

Seven laughed. “See, I can’t even tease you without feeling bad about it. You’re just so likeable... But you are bad at cooking.”

He wasn’t exactly wrong about that, you couldn’t even deny it, so you laughed along with him. Laughing was something you and Seven did a lot whenever you were together. He certainly had a different brand of humor than you were used to when you first met him, one that was almost too weird for your taste. But after all you went through during those eleven days, from the chats to those long days in his secret house in the woods hiding from Mint Eye and Rika, you two had developed an unbreakable bond. It wasn’t something you could explain, but you cared very deeply for Seven, almost in a protective way. He cared for you too, and he was always the first to cheer you up and make you laugh after a rough day. After the nerve-racking morning you’d had, it was nice to laugh.

Then you remembered: since arriving at the party, you hadn’t been able to see all your friends together in a group. It had been so busy. You didn’t tell anyone about the email yet.

Seven must have been reading your mind—or he was just spookily perceptive—because he said, “So what was that thing you had to take care of earlier?”

At that, you smiled coyly. “Can’t tell you yet.”

Seven’s eyes widened. “Wait…It’s not… _Is it?_ ”

“Maybe.”

“No way! You have to tell me now!”

You pressed a finger to your lips, much like your chibi emoji self.

“Seven! Hey, Seven!” You and Seven both turned to face whoever was calling him from inside the banquet hall. It was Yoosung, waving one hand at Seven, while balancing a tray of champagne glasses in the other. “Help me out, will you!”

You looked at Seven and inclined your head toward Yoosung. “Yoosung’s calling you.”

Seven narrowed his eyes at you. You knew he couldn’t deny helping Yoosung, especially when there were several dozen tables full of people waiting to be served drinks. Jumin would be very upset if he knew the guests weren’t being attended to in time like he’d requested.

“Don’t think I won’t bug you about this later,” said Seven before rushing into the hall after Yoosung.

You laughed again and just shook your head.

Perhaps you were being a bit too evasive about the whole thing, but you really did want to tell them all at once. Then you could thank them together and in person, even though you knew merely thanking them would never make up for all the support everyone in RFA had given you.

When you had confided in them that your experiences dealing with Mint Eye had kept you up at night for months after the ordeal ended, often making you wake in a cold sweat and lose hours of sleep, they suggested a slew of different ways to help you cope. Jumin had done a bunch of research on post-traumatic stress disorder on his own time and offered to refer you to the best therapist in the city. Jaehee took time out of her busy schedule to meet up for coffee at least once a week just to keep you company. Yoosung introduced you to some video games and Seven sent you links to cute and silly MeTube videos, which were a good few hours of escapism for you when you needed it. Zen recommended some dramas and movies for the same reason and was more than happy to discuss with you some of their deeper themes, which helped keep your mind occupied.

They each had helped you in their own ways, and after many grueling months, you finally began to feel like things were normal again. Normal…but in a new way.

This new version of yourself had to move forward. To do that, you needed to figure out what you wanted your future to look like.

You knew what you wanted. You wanted to help people. You wanted to travel. The problem was it seemed like one thing too many.

…But whenever you doubted yourself or your ability to do everything you wanted to do, words someone had told you once always resonated back to you:

_“Don’t think about it like you have to do everything at once. Pick one thing first, then see where that takes you.”_

So you picked. You quit your dead-end office job and started working at a children’s daycare near your apartment. Even though you’d always liked the idea of helping children, you never thought you could make a career out of it, and so working at the daycare was meant to be only a temporary gig until you found something more substantial. But you ended up loving it so much that you finally felt like you’d found your calling.

Next on your list of things you wanted to accomplish was to travel, and getting a job teaching abroad with the Global Children’s Alliance gave you that opportunity. Though Dowon Chen had offered you a job, you recalled that his email noted that there were still requirements you needed to complete before it was a sure thing. You knew what that meant: you had to complete one more semester as a tutor and pass the GCA’s review of your performance. The new semester would start in two weeks’ time, and since you had spent the entire summer preparing for the RFA party, you had little time to prepare for your class.

But it should be a piece of cake, you thought, now that you had the GCA’s attention, right? Once you set your sights on your goal, once the path rolled out before you as clear as day, there was nothing left but for you to set foot upon it.

_See where that takes you._

You couldn’t help but wonder where the person who’d told you that was now. Probably halfway across the world. Perhaps even farther. You hadn’t seen or spoken to him since the day he boarded a plane and flew to places unknown. He made you promise him that you would live every moment for yourself.

And you tried. You tried so very hard.

You hoped, if he could see you now, that he would be proud of you.

As the final guests rolled in through the doors, you let out a contented breath.

After spending a long time feeling like you were drifting, like you were lost and headed nowhere, your life was finally taking shape.

There was nothing, you thought, that you could want more.

*** * ***

The party began. The champagne was served, the speakers made their speeches, and now all the guests sat at their tables or milled about the hall, discussing donations and acts of charity their organizations could offer.

In the midst of all the hustle and bustle, all six RFA members managed to find a little time to gather together.

“The turnout is amazing!” said Yoosung. His face was slightly flushed from all the running around he’d done to make sure the refreshments were served efficiently, but there was a bright twinkle in his eyes. “I’m so happy we could do this again! I forgot how much I loved these parties.”

“It’s all thanks to MC,” Seven said, and he flashed her a smile.

“Yes, you really have a talent for persuading people,” added Jaehee.

“I am pretty amazing, aren’t I?” you said, dramatically flipping your hair back. Seven and Yoosung laughed. Even Jaehee let out a small giggle, and you couldn’t help but laugh yourself.

Seven stared at you for a long moment, and you realized he was silently, desperately urging you to reveal the news you’d received that morning.

“Um, so…” you started.

But Zen’s voice chimed in before you could get out a word. “Hey, Trust Fund Kid. I meant to ask you before, didn’t V say he was coming?”

Your mouth snapped shut, startled that it wasn’t the first time that person had crossed your mind that day. You turned turned your gaze to Zen, then to Jumin. You hadn’t heard V’s name in…well, you didn’t know how long. Jumin rarely ever talked about him, where V was, what he was currently doing. You weren’t sure if V had even stayed in contact with Jumin these past two years since he’d left Korea.

Jumin shook his head. “No. I believe he considered attending some time ago, but he informed me several weeks back to confirm he couldn’t make it.”

“Where is he?” you said before you could stop yourself.

“The last I heard, he was in Alaska, but he could be anywhere by now.”

Zen let out a low whistle. “Wow, Alaska huh? Good for him.”

“I’m happy for him,” said Jumin. He bowed his gaze to the floor and played with his cufflinks. “But his long disappearances make me more anxious than I’d like to admit.”

You placed a comforting hand on his arm. You’d noticed in the chats that Jumin seemed to be drinking a lot more recently, and you suspected that his estranged best friend had something to do with it, at least in part. “I’m sure he’s fine, Jumin.”

He looked at your hand, then his eyes trailed to your face. He nodded, as if strengthened by your reassurance. “Yes, he must be. Thank you.”

Eventually, the group disbanded. Seven and Yoosung had to check on the refreshments, while Zen left to meet the rabid group of fangirls that were waiting for him at the entrance. Jumin and Jaehee went to greet Jumin’s father who’d finally arrived, fashionably late.

You were left alone.

Your eyes swept across the banquet hall, watching as groups of radically different organizations mingled. You wondered if you should try joining a conversation. Many of them likely had questions regarding RFA, and you were more than willing to answer. However, you couldn’t decide which groups to interject into, as you were still riding the high of hearing back from the GCA. Your mind raced with different possibilities of your future—boarding a plane and jettisoning off to a foreign country, spending your free time discovering new locales and meeting new people. It both excited you and scared you.

You just couldn’t stop grinning like an idiot.

“…I’ve been waiting for this moment,” said a quiet voice behind you.

Thinking a guest had approached you in order to ask some questions, you turned around. “Pardon?”

As you raised your head to see the person’s face, you caught a glimpse of short turquoise hair. The young man’s eyes matched his hair color, and they were soft as they regarded you. He lifted his hand in greeting.

“Congratulations, Mirae,” he said.

Your heart skipped a beat. You hadn’t heard that gentle voice in a long time, but hearing it now felt as familiar as if you’d heard it only yesterday. For a moment, you forgot how to breathe.

“…V!”

His smile widened. “It’s Jihyun Kim now. Long time no see.”

“Jihyun…” you said, trying out the name. You knew that was his real name, of course, but you’d never called him that. You always called him V. Somehow it never occurred to you that he would want to go back to Jihyun, but then again, it had been two years since you’d seen him.

A lot of could change in two years.

“I’m going to have to get used to that,” you said. “I…I can’t believe you’re here.”

“I know, it took me a while.”

Your eyes roamed over his face. His clothes. Taking in the sight of him because you  _really_  couldn’t believe that V, no,  _Jihyun Kim_  was standing in front of you.

His hair was different than you remembered. The last time you saw him, it almost brushed the base of his neck. Now it was shorter, waves of turquoise swooping casually over his left brow. He wore jeans and a white button down shirt; the top buttons were undone and revealed a white undershirt and a set of three necklaces hanging over his chest. One of them bore a pendant in the shape of a peace sign, while the others were beaded necklaces. You didn’t want to laugh at his unique choice of jewelry, so you bit your lip and grinned instead. He looked rather… _free spirited,_ if you had to think of a term. Almost eccentric. but in a tasteful way, and unrestrained. So unlike the man you knew before.

Most of all, though, he looked  _happy._

Suddenly realizing you’d been staring at him for too long, you stammered, cheeks growing hot. “How are you?”

“I’m doing well,” he said. He nodded. “Very well, actually. You look different.”

“Oh.” You tucked your hair behind an ear self-consciously. It was shorter than it had been when you met him. You’d styled your hair that way for over a year now, so it was normal to you, but of course, to V, it must be a jarring change.

“It suits you, Mirae,” he said. “I like it.”

“Thank you. You don’t have to call me Mirae, you know,” you pointed out. “Everyone else still calls me MC.”

“I know.”

Now he was staring at you with a certain twinkle in his eyes, as if you were a dream he didn’t want to wake from. You could relate to the feeling: even though he was here, you secretly waited for him to disappear in a blink, a figment of your imagination.

This day was officially too good to be true.

“I’ve missed you.” You didn’t mean to say that out loud, but the words left your mouth nonetheless.

His gaze softened. “I wasn’t planning to be here today, honestly. I had tickets booked for other trips, but now I can make a scrapbook of all those unused tickets.” He let out a laugh. “I took the last flight out just in time to make it here.”

“Really?” you said, surprised. “But why? Jumin was sure you wouldn’t be here.”

“I’ll have to apologize to him for that later. But…plans changed. Something told me I had to come back. That it was time. I couldn’t miss your first successful RFA party, after all.”

“It wasn’t just me. Everyone helped.”

“Oh, of course.” He smiled sheepishly. “I’m proud of all of you. It’s…good to see you, Mirae.”

You couldn’t think of anything to say to him, which was frustrating because you thought you would’ve had a million things to say. In his absence, every now and then he would randomly cross your mind. They were quick, fleeting thoughts provoked by a passing mention by someone in the chatroom or a beautiful sunny summer day. Sometimes, more infrequently as time went on, you’d wake from a nightmare dredging up dark memories of him unconscious on your lap. But whenever you remembered him, you would entertain a daydream of how it would be if you ever got to seem him again. You’d tell him about all the things you’d done, all of your struggles and triumphs, all the things you’d learned.

Now that he was here in front of you, however, you could only gape at him like a fish.

But he was watching you, too.

“Did I ever tell you,” he said, breaking the silence, “that for a long time my hobby was putting together blank white puzzles?”

Your eyes narrowed with interest, a curious smile lifting the corners of your lips. What a weird thing to bring up. “No, you didn’t.”

“I collected them for a long time.”

You tilted your head. “But aren’t you supposed to draw on those first? I thought the purpose of a blank puzzle is to piece together whatever picture you created on them.”

“You’re right, but I never used to do that. I’ve started drawing on them now, though. Or painting. I like mixing different colors together and brushing them across the puzzles. Sometimes I draw simple shapes, or I’ll draw more complex things, if I’m feeling bold. I have so many now that I don’t know what to do with them all.”

Inexplicably, your throat tightened as you listened to him. You’d never seen him like this, his turquoise eyes alight with so much passion. It overwhelmed you.

“You’re painting,” you said. Once, he’d told you that being an artist was his secret dream, his true goal that had been unattainable because he was too afraid of criticism and failure. He’d faced those fears since then, and now he was living his dream.

“I am,” he said. “I’d like to show you some of these puzzles, if you’re interested.”

He  _had_  changed. More than you could’ve hoped for him.

“I’d love to see them.”

“Good. I’m glad.”

“I’m happy for you, V—I mean…Jihyun. I know how much learning how to draw meant to you.”

“I’m doing all the things I said I’d do.” He paused, as if weighing his next words. “Do you remember what else I told you I wanted to be able to do someday?”

You thought back two years, filtering through everything you’d ever said to one another. There were so many things you talked about, sharing your dreams and hopes of the future as you both took time to heal after those traumatic eleven days with Mint Eye. He could have referred to any one of those dreams, but, for the life of you, you couldn’t guess which one. You were just so overjoyed to see him and to know that he was okay. No, he was more than okay. He was  _radiant._

You never found out the answer to his question because the sound of someone else’s stunned voice interrupted your conversation.

“…V?”


	2. Not V Anymore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy, this chapter is long. Not sure if all chapters will end up being this long, but I guess I just have a lot of Exposition™. I hadn’t planned to post this chapter today, but what is a posting schedule?
> 
> This chapter is in Jihyun’s POV. Jsyk, this fic will be alternating POVs between Jihyun and MC, but whenever it’s in Jihyun’s POV, it’s completely in 3rd person, including references to MC/Mirae (so, “she/her” instead of “you”). This is just a stylistic preference.

Jihyun would have recognized that low voice anywhere. Slightly disappointed at being interrupted, he turned. Jumin stood few paces away, gaping at him with his jaw slack and his brows raised.

“Hello, Jumin,” he said. He reached out his hand, and Jumin stepped forward to shake it. “I go by Jihyun now.”

Jumin’s brows lifted even higher. “Is that so? You said you couldn’t make it.”

“I did. I’m sorry. I had”—Jihyun stole a glance at Mirae before looking back at his old friend—“a change of plans.”

“How long are you planning to stay in the country?” said Jumin.

Jihyun let out a breath, suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of indecision at being asked so directly. He shook his head. “Indefinitely, I suppose.”

“So you’re back.”

“Yeah. I am.”

Jumin took a moment to process this. “It’s good to see you, Jihyun.”

Jihyun smiled, knowing that there was much more sentiment laying behind his old friend’s straightforward words. “Same to you.”

The loudspeakers in the banquet hall crackled with feedback. Everyone’s heads turned toward the podium where Jaehee tapped on the microphone. Once she made sure it was working, she spoke into it, announcing that the party was coming to an end. She thanked everyone for coming on behalf of the RFA and wished them all a lovely evening ahead.

Jumin stood beside Jihyun as they listened to the announcement. Jihyun was comforted at how naturally they seemed to fall back in line with one another. Of course, he imagined Jumin must have been frustrated over his absence for the past two years—the prolonged gaps between phone calls, the rare postcard every few months. He would have to make up for it somehow, and seeing Jumin being so accepting of his return was enough for him to know that resuming their friendship could be possible.

“Does Jaehee still work for you?” he said.

“Of course.”

“Still working her to the bone?”

Jumin glanced at him askew. “If you mean to ask whether I continue to expect nothing less than her hardest work and effort, then yes. She’s an ideal assistant in that regard.”

Jihyun sighed. “I admire her work effort, but you need to give that woman a break.”

“That’s what I keep saying,” Mirae said as she stepped between them. Jihyun bowed his head to look at her, since she was so much shorter than either him or Jumin. “He doesn’t listen to me, of course.”

“Jumin doesn’t listen to anyone. I see he hasn’t changed at all.” Jihyun couldn’t help but smile fondly at that. “Though, he really ought to listen to you, Mirae, more so than anyone.”

“I do listen to MC, in fact,” Jumin said. “I respect her opinions and thoughts more than most people’s… You’re rolling your eyes at me, MC. Does that mean you don’t take me seriously?”

“You say you listen to me, but then you go on to do whatever you were going to do despite of it. I’m not upset, I’m just saying.”

“People don’t say something for the sake of saying something. There’s always an intention behind it.”

“If you say so. I see you’ve masterfully diverted the topic away from the fact that you need to give Jaehee a break, so I won’t entertain this conversation anymore.” Mirae looked at Jihyun. “You guys have been friends since childhood, right?”

Jihyun nodded, curious at her behavior toward Jumin. They seemed close, close enough that Jumin let her speak to him like that with little retaliation. Jumin almost seemed to enjoy the banter.

“How did you put up with him?” she said.

Jihyun chuckled. “Well, you know, our personalities used to be a lot more alike when we were younger.”

“Really? I don’t believe that,” she said, surprised. “I don’t know if I could deal with two Jumin Hans in the world. One is enough.” She gave Jumin a side-eye when he wasn’t looking. “More than enough.”

Jihyun bit back a laugh at her sass. At the same time, however, he couldn’t deny the small pang of jealousy he felt at seeing how Mirae and Jumin interacted with one another. He wasn’t entirely sure where the feeling came from, or why. He would have thought he’d be glad that his best friend had taken a liking toward her, especially considering the strange circumstances surrounding their initial meeting. Jumin must have liked her so much to keep her within RFA’s tight-knit circle. Jihyun should be grateful.

But right now…Jihyun wanted her to talk to  _only_  him. He was glad to see Jumin, of course, but part of him wished he hadn’t interrupted his moment with Mirae. He wished he could have a little more time alone with her. That wasn’t possible now. As the party guests slowly filed out of the banquet hall, the rest of the RFA members took notice of his very unexpected presence and started joining the group.

Jaehee approached them once she was finished with her announcement. She greeted Jihyun politely, though the shock of seeing him was apparent in her eyes. As they shook hands, she expressed that she was glad he was safe. Jihyun had always liked Jaehee. She was one of the most responsible and level-headed members of the bunch, and he’d always seen an underlying potential in her that begged to be realized.

Zen joined the group next. In a moment rare for Zen’s energetic personality, as soon as he realized who he was seeing, he froze mid-stride, speechless. But then, without warning, he stepped forward and pulled Jihyun in for a hug. Jihyun welcomed it.

“How’s the acting career?” said Jihyun when they pulled away from each other.

“Fantastic. I’m the lead in a musical currently. I’ll get you tickets! I’m so happy you could make it to the party.”

“I’m happy I could make it too. And thank you, I would love to see your show.”

“It’s one of the biggest hits in recent memory,” Jaehee commented enthusiastically. Jihyun couldn’t have felt happier for Zen.

By the time Yoosung came along, Zen was in the middle of describing his musical. He approached tentatively, and Jihyun noticed him from the corner of his eye. He didn’t want to interrupt Zen, so he looked over to Yoosung, locked eyes with him, and nodded. Yoosung did the same, and he punctuated it with a genuine smile. After all the disagreements they’d had with each other in the past, Jihyun finally felt like they had found common ground.

Luciel was the last to see him. He’d joined the group in the same manner as Yoosung, quietly and unassuming, but when Jihyun looked at him, he found amber eyes full of emotion, as if Luciel couldn’t believe what, or who, he was seeing. A ghost from the past. Everyone fell quiet as the two men stared at each other.

“V…” Luciel’s voice was hardly a whisper. “You’re… What are you doing here?”

“I’m back, Luciel,” Jihyun said, almost tentatively. Out of everyone, Luciel was the one he was most anxious to see. He knew leaving to find himself meant leaving Luciel behind. He’d agonized over the decision, knowing how unfair and cruel it would be to just abandon him for selfish reasons, even though Luciel himself had given him his blessing. There was so much Jihyun wanted to tell him, so much that the old version of himself had left unsaid. He owed it to Luciel. He owed it to their relationship, as fragile as it was now. He just needed to find the strength to do it.

“I hope you’re well,” he said. “We have a lot to catch up on, I think.”

Jihyun extended his right hand, not entirely expecting what Luciel would do with the offering. Luciel’s eyes dropped and examined it. Jihyun could imagine the wires firing in his mind. Would he reject him? Pull him into a hug? Whatever the response, Jihyun was prepared to accept it.

Finally, Luciel extended his own arm and shook his hand. Not firm, but not delicate either. “We do. I’m…glad you’re back.”

Relief washed through him. Perhaps he could dare to hope after all.

There was an unbearable silence among the group now, and he wasn’t sure if he should be the one to break it. Thankfully, however, Yoosung took the opportunity to call over a server to bring them glasses of champagne. That lightened the mood considerably.

“To our first successful party as the new and improved RFA,” Yoosung said, raising his glass. Everyone raised theirs in turn.

“And to many more in the future,” said Jumin.

“And to our incredible guest coordinator,” said Zen, flashing a pearly grin at Mirae, “without whom none of this would be possible at all.”

“Here, here!” everyone agreed in unison.

Mirae smiled bashfully at Zen’s praise, and the sight almost took Jihyun’s breath away. It wasn’t the first time that day she’d elicited such a reaction from him. He’d dreamed of reuniting with her for so long, but even dreams were nothing compared to the reality, and he was entirely unprepared for it.

Most impressive of all, he realized as he stood among all his old friends, she really had found a place with RFA. It was hard to believe she hadn’t always been there from the start. Jihyun may have been the organization’s founder, but Mirae was the glue that kept them together, the one who inspired them to rebuild from the ground up. He would be forever grateful to her for that.

They all clinked their glasses together. When Jihyun’s glass touched hers, their eyes met. He continued to watch her as they both took a sip of their drinks. Her cheeks flushed and she shifted her gaze away from him, but she stole furtive glances back to him every now and then as if to check if he was looking at her. And he was. Like she was the only person in the room.

In truth, he was grateful to her for a whole lot more than just keeping RFA together. More than she could ever know.

 _“Do you remember what else I told you I wanted to be able to do someday?”_ he had asked her.

He hadn’t had the chance to finish.

 _I want to be able to love someone again,_ he would have said.

 _I want to love_ you _._

His heart twisted in his chest as the unspoken words made rounds in his head, intensified by her presence right in front of him. It was a quiet hope that he’d held fast to from the moment he let her go in the airport all those years ago. He had never presumed that she would wait for him; he’d even told her not to wait, whether for him or for some other future. He had wanted her to live her life on her own terms, seizing every moment and opportunity. Just as he did.

But secretly, in the back of his mind, when he lay awake after a full day’s adventures and slowly peeled back his superficial layers to reveal his true self, he hoped his path would one day cross hers again. He hoped when they did that it would be the right time.

If he could ever be so lucky as to love someone—truly and wholly—he would have wanted it to be her.

He ached to tell her, just to let her know.

His thoughts were interrupted when Luciel forcibly cleared his throat.

“Since we’re all here,” he said, almost glaring in frustrated anticipation at Mirae, “I think now is the perfect time to hear some  _news_. Of the good or bad kind. Eh, MC?”

Everyone’s head turned in Mirae’s direction. Her eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights, and her cheeks flushed the faintest shade of pink.

What was this about?

Her shyness soon melted as a smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

“Well,” she said slowly. Her eyes fluttered momentarily to Jihyun’s before she looked back at everyone else. “I got an email back from the Global Children’s Alliance this morning, and they offered me a position.”

Every member of the RFA cheered at once.

“Really?!” said Yoosung, his jaw falling slack.

“No way! That’s awesome!” said Zen.

Luciel pumped a fist in the air and let out a whoop. “I knew it! What did I tell you? You should have told me first.”

“You wouldn’t have lasted the party without blowing the secret, Seven,” said Mirae.

“Not true! I’m good at keeping secrets.”

“Sure. I know how excited you get. You could’ve had grabbed the microphone in the middle of someone’s speech and announced it to the whole room.”

Luciel opened his mouth to retort, but paused in thought, then closed it. “Fair enough.”

“Congratulations, MC,” said Jumin. “The GCA are very lucky to have you.”

Jaehee grinned at Mirae and reached over to squeeze her arm in support. “I’m so happy for you.”

Mirae’s eyes twinkled. “Thanks, guys. I couldn’t have done it without all your help. Really.”

“It looks like I owe you a congratulations, too,” said Jihyun. The joy in the room was infectious. “What position have you accepted?”

Mirae snapped her gaze toward him, as if caught off guard. She hesitated. “Oh...well, um, V, I…”

“She’s going overseas to teach children in need!” Zen said. He pressed a hand to his chest and wiped the corner of his eye in a very convincing imitation of being overwhelmed to tears. “Our RFA angel is spreading her wings to see the world, and to help people, of course.”

Jihyun’s heart plummeted into his stomach. He could only gape at her, unable to respond. He could barely process what he’d just heard. Mirae was leaving? Just when he had finally returned home?

“Stop it, Zen,” Mirae begged with a laugh. “You’re embarrassing me.”

Luciel slipped an arm around Mirae’s shoulders and shook her. “Ooh, MC, but we’re so excited for you! Where are you going? I’ve studied abroad myself, remember? I can offer top quality advice in making a smooth transition. There’s a bunch of resources online–I can send you links, if you want.”

“Hold your horses, Seven,” Mirae said. She gracefully ducked under Luciel’s arm and freed herself. “They may have offered me a position, but it’s still not set in stone. I still have to complete the next semester tutoring my class and pass their teaching standards.”

Luciel waved a dismissive hand. “Oh whatever, you got this in the bag!”

“Haha, I guess so,” said Mirae, but Jihyun didn’t miss the uncertainty and the lack of confidence in her expression. It was a stark contrast to the excitement she’d had only a moment ago.

“Where will you be going?” Yoosung asked.

“Well, like I said, nothing is official yet, but they mentioned I could be in Thailand, Morocco, Ecuador, or Mozambique.”

“So it’s a mystery? That’s insane! The program starts in February, right? And you have no idea where you’ll be in”—Yoosung counted on his fingers—“six months!”

“It’s pretty wild. And exciting. But I can’t help but be a little nervous too.” She looked at Jihyun. “I bet you’re used to that by now, though, huh? Going where the wind takes you.”

Though only minutes before he had been brimming with words of everything he wanted to say to her, Jihyun suddenly forgot how to speak. Everything was happening so fast.

“Yeah,” he sputtered finally, trying to play it as cool as possible. “One week you’re in Barcelona, and the next you’re in an obscure town on the coast of Iceland somehow.”

“Wow,” she said, impressed. “We have a lot of catching up to do.”

He nodded. “We do.”

_And I thought we would have so much more time._

By now the banquet hall was now entirely empty of party guests. Zen looked at his phone and announced that he had to leave.

“I have a show tonight,” he explained. “Congratulations, everyone, on a very successful party. We need to celebrate this in the near future.” He stepped toward Jihyun and clapped him on the back. “It’s so good to see you again, V.”

“It’s Jihyun. Please. Not V.”

Zen’s brows knit in confusion, as did everyone else except Mirae and Jumin. He expected to have this sort of reaction for the foreseeable future. It was an odd thing indeed, suddenly changing the name everyone knew you by, even if it was your given name. 

“Eh? Jihyun, hm? That’s going to take a while to get used to.”

As Zen went around the group saying his goodbyes, everyone started going their own separate ways as well. Yoosung had a LOLOL event with his gaming friends, and Jaehee was planning to watch Zen’s show (for the third time in two weeks) with someone named Soomi.

“Who’s Soomi?” asked Jihyun.

Jaehee blushed as if she caught herself saying something she shouldn’t.

Mirae leaned toward Jihyun and whispered, “Soomi is Jaehee’s girlfriend. They’ve only been dating a few months, and Jaehee’s still shy about it.”

“I see,” he said, a bit surprised but pleasantly so. He decided not to prod Jaehee about it any further. He was glad Jaehee had found someone to share her Zen fanaticism with.

Luciel announced he had to get going as well, as he had some things to take care of, and that he’d see them all on the messenger.

Finally, Jihyun, Mirae, and Jumin were the only RFA members remaining in the hall. The party staff bustled through the room around them, wiping down tables and taking down decorations. Jihyun offered to help, but Jumin dismissed the notion, saying that it was the staff’s job to clean.

It was silent among the group, and Jihyun had the feeling that no one wanted to be the first to leave. At least, neither Jihyun nor Mirae wanted to. Jumin only stuck around, it seemed, for Jihyun’s sake.

While Mirae busied herself staring at one of the staff members who was climbing a ladder to pull down the party banner, Jihyun took a step toward her. He figured he had nothing to lose.

“I meant to ask you,” he said, and she turned to look at him, “would you like to have dinner with me tonight? I know it’s last minute, but I was hoping we could catch up sooner rather than later.”

Mirae smiled. “I’d love to.”

Jihyun’s heart fluttered with excitement. But his spirits were dampened when Mirae sighed dejectedly. “But I already have plans tonight,” she finished. “I’m meeting a friend.”

A friend? Who could that be? He had to stop himself from asking. It wasn’t any of his business, of course, but the selfish side of him wanted to know who she was seeing. Once more, a jealous feeling overcame him, raw and unfamiliar, but he stamped it down.

“Oh, that’s all right,” he said. “Don’t worry about it. Maybe some other time?”

“Yes. Definitely. Keep in touch, yeah? Don’t...disappear on me,” she said, her voice soft. Then she stammered, suddenly flustered. “I mean, that is—at least, not without me knowing first, okay?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

They stood staring at each other for a few silent seconds, and Jihyun desperately wished he knew what she was thinking. She said she missed him, but how much? Did she miss him as much as he missed her?

...Did he make her wait too long?

Mirae stepped forward awkwardly, gauging his reaction, unsure whether he’d be okay with it. She didn’t need to wonder, however, because Jihyun moved toward her instinctively and pulled her into his arms. He wrapped himself around her, and he felt her stiffen in surprise. He’d expected that—the few times they had ever hugged each other, she had initiated it and he’d been caught off guard by it.

This time, however, he wanted to be the one who held her. Not to comfort or console her, but to let her know that he had changed. That the person who returned was no longer the broken man she knew back then. Her arms finally find their way around him. She was warm in his embrace. The soft sweet scent of her hair filled his lungs. It had been so long since they were this close. 

She was the first one to pull away, and even though he wanted to pull her back and keep her there, he let her go. Her face was unreadable, save for the rosy tint in her cheeks.

“Bye, V,” she said. Then she turned to leave.

“It’s Jihyun,” he called after her.

She turned and sent him an apologetic look, then she smiled and tapped a finger to her temple. He watched her walk away until she was gone.

He needed more time.

Jumin spoke up from beside him, snapping him out of his thoughts. “Jihyun, since you’ve just arrived, why don’t you stay at my place tonight? You’re welcome to my penthouse until we can find you somewhere more permanent.”

“Oh, I couldn’t ask that of you. I can find a hotel or a room someplace. I’m not too picky.”

In the two years he’d spent traveling abroad, Jihyun had gotten used to having less than ideal living arrangements. He’d move from hostel to hostel, or couch to couch, wherever he could find a place to sleep. It was a far cry from how he was raised, living in a large private estate owned by his father, and it was much less picturesque than his old cliffside house. But eventually he learned to appreciate the simplicity of having nothing but a bed and a small suitcase of his belongings. He’d shed himself of all the excess baggage he’d carried with him throughout his life, and he learned what it meant to be free. When he finally returned to Korea, he figured, if nothing else, he could bunk in some hotel downtown until he got back into the rhythm of living in the city.

Jumin, however, looked at him as if he were insane.

“Nonsense,” he said. “I won’t take no for an answer. I can’t let you stay at a hotel when my residence is more spacious and more comfortable than even five-star hotels.”

“They’re not that bad,” said Jihyun with a shrug. But he knew there was no point in arguing with him. Once Jumin Han made up his mind about something, he would see it through, whether you liked it or not. “Okay, I’ll stay at your place. Thank you, Jumin.”

“Don’t mention it,” Jumin said. “I’ll see my father off and inform him that I won’t be having dinner with him tonight. Then I’ll call my chef and have him prepare a meal for us.”

Jumin left to make arrangements, and Jihyun waited for him outside. A black car pulled up at the curb and Driver Kim hopped out to greet him. They shook hands.

“It’s a pleasure seeing you again, Mr. Kim,” he said to Jihyun.

“Please, call me Jihyun.”

“How were your travels abroad?”

“Enlightening. Very...educational, shall we say.” It was so much more than that, but it was impossible to phrase it all without sounding incredibly cliche or cheesy.

“I bet,” said Driver Kim. “You must be glad to be home, though.”

“I am,” said Jihyun, but a strange feeling settled on his chest upon hearing the word.

_…Home._

He raised his eyes to the sky, to the tall buildings towering above him, then back down to the streets veering off to all the diverse neighborhoods of the city. He was born in this city; he grew up here and had stayed most of his adult life here. He knew this place more intimately and personally than anywhere else in the world. And yet...

Could he call it home? When he was out there in the world searching for himself, his thoughts would sometimes drift back to where he had come from. It wasn’t that he missed his childhood home or his secluded cliffside house or his apartment in the city. He didn’t even miss his family very much, as his remaining family lived most of the year overseas and his mother had long since passed. What he missed was the familiarity of it all, the comfort of his sheltered existence. Once all of that was stripped away, what was left?

He’d missed his friends, of course, but he’d be lying to himself if he said the only reason he came back was because of them. Traveling abroad was just as beneficial to him as it was exhausting, and after two years moving from place to place with no end in sight, he was finally ready for something more stable. A new life worthy of the person he had fought so hard to become.

Where was his home now? What was home? He wasn’t sure what that meant exactly, but a nagging voice inside him told him it was time to find out.

Jumin met Jihyun by the car and apologized for making him wait.

“My father wasn’t too pleased when I told him I had to cancel our dinner,” he explained. “He seems to think he wasted his time attending the party.”

“You didn’t have to cancel. I would’ve been fine having dinner on my own.”

“I haven’t seen you in two years, Jihyun. I’ve barely heard from you. My father can wait. Besides,” he flicked back a loose strand of hair that had fallen across his forehead, “he seemed more irritated that I’ve dodged yet another opportunity to meet his new girlfriend. She would have been at dinner with us, and I’d rather avoid having to associate with her.”

Jihyun raised his brows. “What girlfriend?”

“Her name is Glam Choi, and my father is completely obsessed with her.”

“Wait, did he divorce his last wife?” The last time Jihyun checked, Chairman Han was still married to wife number two. Or was it three? He couldn’t even name any of his previous wives or girlfriends.

“No,” said Jumin.

“Oh.” Jihyun paused. “ _Oh._ ”

“Indeed. Now, let’s get going.”

Jihyun suddenly felt bad. Though Jumin’s voice was as flat as ever, Jihyun had known him long enough to detect the subtle nuances in his demeanor. The slight dishevelment of his hair, the terseness of his words. Whatever romantic entanglement Chairman Han had found himself in, it was causing his son a great deal of distress.

The least Jihyun could do was be there for him. He owed him that.

They both got in the car, and Driver Kim closed the door behind them.

“I admit,” said Jihyun, “I’m relieved that you offered to let me stay with you.”

Jumin tilted his head at him. “Why is that?”

“Because I already sent my bags to your penthouse.” Jihyun shrugged and let out a laugh when he saw his friend’s surprised expression. “I didn’t know where else to send them, and I couldn’t just walk into the party carrying all my luggage with me.”

“Well, it would’ve been an amusing sight for our guests to see the elusive V, fabled founder of the RFA, crashing the party like some street urchin.”

“I don’t look that bad.”

“You’re wearing necklaces that look like they were purchased from one of those coin machines commoners love so much.”

“There’s a very good story that goes with these necklaces,” he defended, but he laughed all the same. Jumin’s lips lifted in the barest hint of a smile.

Jihyun’s gaze shifted to look through the car window as the city rolled past.

“They wouldn’t have recognized me anyway. I’m not V anymore.”

“You’re right, Jihyun,” said Jumin. “You’re not.”


	3. Friendly Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which MC gets some thinly veiled romantic advice from an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me a while to post cus I had to rewrite this entire chapter from an old version and words were a struggle. It’s like necessary filler? Just so I can get the story rolling already. Luckily I think I’ll be able to post the next chapter sooner cus it’s mostly written, save for some revisions, so stay tuned!

The restaurant you found yourself at a few hours after the party was a fancy one, almost too fancy than you were comfortable with. It was a good thing you were already dressed nicely because at least you could pretend like you fit in here among the rich businessmen and media moguls who sat at the tables next to yours. You would’ve thought having just hosted a party full of famous and less-than-famous people that you wouldn’t bat an eye at being surrounded by quasi-celebrities, but it was a much different experience when you didn’t really have a good reason to be here.

Your best friend Hana, however, had refined taste as someone who worked in the media industry, and after you had told her the news about the GCA position, she insisted on taking you out for an extravagant dinner at one of her favorite restaurants. You and Hana already ordered your food (which was too expensive for your taste, but Hana was paying for you, since this was a celebratory occasion), and so you sat across from each other at a small table as you listened to her recounting her recent trip to the Maldives with her new semi-famous boyfriend.

Usually you’d be more interested in hearing about her latest romantic entanglements, but now you had trouble getting your mind to focus after everything that happened to you earlier that day. You couldn’t get your mind off V— _no, Jihyun!_  You scolded yourself for forgetting his name again. You couldn’t keep calling him V when he clearly didn’t want to be called that anymore, and you swore the next time you saw him you would address him by his real name with no slip-ups.

 _Next time._ Your heart fluttered at the possibility that you would see him again. Most likely. Maybe? The image of him from that afternoon wouldn’t leave you. You stared blankly at Hana as your mind recalled his turquoise hair, the soft twinkle in his eyes, his gentle smile. Your skin remembered the feel of his arms around you. He’d never hugged you like that before—it was engulfing and warm and safe. You’d been taken aback by it. But you liked it. You liked it a lot…

God, what was wrong with you?

“Um, Mirae? Hello?”

You snapped your gaze from the empty space behind Hana’s head.

“Wait, sorry,” you said. “What did you say?”

Hana turned around in her chair to look behind her, but when she saw nothing interesting, she looked back at you. “Whoa, where were you just now?”

You shook your head. “My mind wandered a bit. You were saying something about hiking with, uh…”

“Hojin,” she said.

“Right. Hojin. Your…boyfriend?”

Hana was eyeing you suspiciously in a way that made you feel like you couldn’t hide anything from her. And you really couldn’t, but since she was your best friend who knew you would tell her things in your own time, she didn’t make mention of it.

“Yeah, my boyfriend. I guess,” she said with a dismissive hand wave. “We had a good time, but I don’t know how much longer I’ll stay with him.”

That didn’t surprise you. Hana may be the type who fell hard and fast in love, but she was also the type who fell hard and fast  _out of_  love, too. It seemed she liked the idea of love more than actually being in love, but you didn’t love her any less for it.

“Anyway,” she said, “I’ve been rambling about me all this time when we’re supposed to be celebrating  _you_! You really need to stop me when I talk too much. Your turn. How did the party go?”

How did the party go? Where to begin? It seemed so much had happened within the span of a few short hours, and you still couldn’t wrap your mind around it all.

“It went really well. A lot of people showed up.”

“Really? That’s great! And you were so worried no one would show up. I told you no one could resist your charm.”

“Seven said the same thing to me, pretty much.”

“Seven is, uh, the brainy one, right?”

“Yeah, the hacker guy,” you said.

“Got it. Man, if I hadn’t been so jet-lagged this morning I would’ve liked to go to the party. I should meet these people sometime. You talk about them so much, it’s almost like you have another family I don’t know about.”

Sometimes you forgot that Hana only knew the RFA members through the stories you told her about them, despite the fact that you’d been a part of the organization for two whole years. Hana had never had the chance to meet them in person. Back when you were first inducted into Mint Eye, she had been on a business trip the entire time, so her shock when you told her everything that happened to you was unparalleled, so much that she threatened to expose RFA and Mint Eye to the mainstream media. You persuaded her against it, not wanting any more bad press for your friends after Rika’s unexpected appearance at the last party. Not only was RFA’s reputation on the line, but their individual careers and good names were, too. If word had gotten out that they were tied to a dangerous cult, even if they had no part in its formation, there would be no mercy for any of them. You couldn’t let that happen. You had to keep them together, and, most important of all, safe.

Thankfully, Hana listened to you, after hours and hours of having to calm her down in your apartment, and promised to keep the RFA’s secrets. Even though she trusted your judgment that they were good, she didn’t trust them herself until many months later, once the dust of the scandal had settled and Mint Eye and Rika were no longer a threat. Now she knew them as just another group of friends you had.

It would be cool if Hana could meet them, but everyone’s schedules were so erratic that getting them all together in once place would be nothing short of a miracle. Occasions such as the RFA party were a once-in-a-blue-moon event.

“Hm, it’d be interesting, to say the least,” you said slowly. Your mind started to wander again, imagining how Hana would react to meeting your other group of friends. How she might look at Seven and Yoosung and be reminded of her younger brothers, How she’d recognize Jaehee as another ambitious working woman who also had a strong interest in media. How she’d probably be instantly attracted to Jumin but would be put off by his detached demeanor and start to gravitate toward the flirtatious energy of Zen instead…

“You are really distracted today, huh, Mimi?” said Hana as she waved a hand in front of your face, calling you by your childhood nickname, the pet name your family had given you. Hana was practically family to you, since you’d known each other since elementary school back in your little suburban town.

In a lot of ways, you still felt like Mimi, that little girl from a small town who had big dreams. But in other ways, you felt like MC, the grown woman who struggled for a long time to find her way.

On second thought, it might be awkward to have those two sides of your life converge.

“Sorry,” you muttered, forcing yourself to focus on the conversation at hand. “The party was good. We got a lot of donations, which is encouraging. We haven’t had a chance to go through the guest surveys yet, but I have a good feeling about it. I think we can look forward to hosting more parties in the future.”

“That’s good news! You won’t be part of it anymore, though, will you?”

You frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, your position at the GCA is overseas, so I imagine it’d be hard to be a guest coordinator for RFA if you’re so far away.”

…You hadn’t even thought of that.

“That…is a good point,” you said. “I should probably talk to the others about it. I mean, I could still be guest coordinator, since most of the job is done through email…”

Hana didn’t look convinced. “Mimi, you might be on the other side of the world. You’re doing the GCA job because you want to have fun, not because you want to add anymore stress to your life.”

“I’m not  _only_  going to have fun. I still have to work, you know. Because it’s a  _job._ ”

“Obviously. Which is why you might end up biting off more than you can chew if you still work with RFA while you’re away. Think about it. You know how stressed you get when you have a lot on your plate at once.”

You sighed unhappily, knowing Hana was right. The last few months proved it. On top of being an after-school teacher, which required daily lesson planning and grading, you also had to keep up with all the RFA party dealings. Not to mention you had been anxiously waiting to hear back from the GCA that whole time.

“I know,” you said, “but…I can’t just abandon RFA? They’re my friends. The organization means a lot to them.”

Ever since the two original founders of RFA had bowed out indefinitely, there was technically no one in charge. Everyone had their equal share of contributions, and it was more of a team effort, but you couldn’t help but feel like you had a responsibility toward them, as if you had adopted them. They’d always placed a lot of faith in you, and sometimes you weren’t sure why, especially since you were the newest and least experienced among them. No one had brought up the subject of you resigning your position in RFA if you accepted a job overseas; they had only expressed excitement and support for you during the entire application process. Would RFA still be around after you left?

Then you remembered: Jihyun Kim was back. The co-founder of RFA himself. He seemed happy at the party earlier that day, satisfied that the organization had continued on without him. Since he was home, he could resume his position as the group’s leader, and you wouldn’t have to worry about their future.

Maybe it was divine timing, or maybe it was just pure coincidence. Either way, the universe seemed to be telling you that now was the perfect time for you to try something new. To take that job overseas with no regrets.

…But why did you still feel uncertain about it, even though you had been so sure about going through it with as soon as you read your acceptance letter?

Why did you feel like Jihyun Kim’s sudden reappearance had something to do with it?

Hana snapped her fingers, which startled you. “Something else is up,” she said accusingly. “Something’s bothering you. What are you not telling me?”

You let out another sigh. You could hide nothing from her.  There was no point in trying. “Um,  well, you remember how I told you the co-founders of the RFA are no longer active members of the organization?”

“Yeah, you told me they used to be engaged? Then after things went sour, the woman was sent to get treatment, and the guy…he left the country, right?”

You nodded. Hana had put it lightly, of course. She knew more of the story, but it wasn’t appropriate to talk about the whole cult thing in a public restaurant where many people could potentially overhear.

“About that guy,” you said slowly. “He came to the RFA party today.”

Hana’s jaw fell open. “Wait, he’s the photographer, right? V?”

“He goes by his real name now. Jihyun Kim. I don’t think he’s a photographer anymore.”

“Hold on.” Hana sat back in her chair and studied your face as if she were figuring out a puzzle, trying to remember everything you’d told her about him. You didn’t talk about him much after he left.

“Didn’t you… Didn’t you have a crush on this guy?” she said finally.

“ _What?_ ” Your eyes widened, completely caught off guard by her question. “No!” 

Hana tilted her head like she didn’t believe you. “Are you sure? I remember you talked to him  _a lot_  after the whole incident. I mean, more than you talked to me, and I’m your best friend.”

“Yeah, but not because I had a crush on him. God, Hana, he’d literally just gone through a bad breakup back then.”

“Well, no one likes to be the rebound, but that doesn’t stop anyone from crushing on people.”

You sat back in your seat and crossed your arms. “It wasn’t like that between us. He was just…a friend.”

Yes, that was all V was. A friend.

“Hm, okay,” said Hana. “Well, your friend is back. Is he still that sexy angsty photographer you showed me pictures of?”

“Oh my god!” Your exclamation was so loud that the people at the neighboring tables turned their heads toward you, displeasure written all over their faces. Your own face burned as you pretended you didn’t notice their glares. Was it getting hot in here, or was it just you?

Hana hadn’t noticed either, as she had pulled out her phone and started scrolling through it.

“What are you doing?” you said.

“I’m looking for a picture of him.”

“Why would you have a picture of him?”

“Because I saved the ones you sent me.”

“ _You saved the pics I sent you?!_ ”

Hana raised her eyes at you. “Um,  _of course_  I saved them…”

Sometimes your best friend was unbelievable. Right now you wished you could turn back time to two years ago so you could stop your past self from telling her anything about RFA, especially Jihyun Kim.

“Found it!” she said. She studied the photo on her screen, her brows scrunched together in concentration. “Oh, yeah, definitely angsty and sexy. Does he still look like this?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” you hissed. Hana angled her phone screen toward you, and there you saw him: it was the selfie Jihyun had taken of himself sitting in Seven’s car, back when his hair was long. Back when his name was still V. He smiled softly at the camera, but his eyes were sad. The torrent of emotions you’d felt back then came rushing back to you in full force, and suddenly you regretted ever sending Hana that picture of him. You realized now that it was too personal, even though you’d never really explained to her why he’d taken that selfie in the first place.

Another thing struck you as you examined it: even though you hadn’t looked at that picture in a long time, that version of him was exactly how you imagined him whenever you thought about him these past two years.

“No,” you said. “He doesn’t look like that anymore. He isn’t…angsty.”

“Hm. I see.” She put her phone down. “You didn’t say he isn’t sexy, though. Noted.”

“I have no idea what you’re trying to insinuate, Hana.”

“Then let me spell it out for you, Mimi: are you and the photographer going to hook up now that he’s back?”

“ _No!_ ” 

The outburst forced everyone in the restaurant to look at you now. You were sweating. “What… W-why… would you even say something like that? He and I are just friends, and I haven’t seen him in years… And anyway, he’s a painter now, not a photographer.”

But that was besides the point. You were so embarrassed by this conversation that you’d bring up anything else to steer it off course. You wanted to slip down off your chair and melt into the floor. You and Jihyun…? Hana had no idea who this man was beyond what you’d told her about him. He was just a figure from your past, a kind yet hurt soul who had broken free from his traumatic past and moved on to see better days. You wanted nothing more for him other than his own happiness, even if it meant finding it elsewhere. You hadn’t counted on him coming back.

Now that Hana was presuming that you were going to “hook up” with him now that he  _had_  come back, you couldn’t feel more horrified. Not that it would’ve been a horrible thing...in theory... You were sure Jihyun was a perfectly good guy…

Once again you remembered being in the warmth of his embrace earlier that day, and your breath caught slightly.

You shook the memory out of your mind quickly. “Hana, don’t you think this is a little inappropriate?”

“Nothing is inappropriate with me, babe. I’m your friend. I’m supposed to be concerned about you, your well-being, and your love life.”

You scoffed. “What love life? That’s not a thing.”

“It could be.”

You hadn’t concerned yourself with any sort of love life simply because you had other priorities to attend to. In truth, love and romance were never high on your list. It was one of the few points of commonality you had with Jumin, as a matter of fact.

“I don’t have time for anything like that. It couldn’t happen at a worse time anyway. I need to focus on my job. I have to pass the GCA’s review of my last semester teaching or else I won’t be going overseas at all. I’m  _stressed_  enough over that as it is. I haven’t even started lesson planning! I have no idea what I’m going to do with my students.”

Hana shrugged. “How hard can it be? You work at an after school program. They’re little kids. Just come up with random activities for them to do until their parents pick them up. Give them coloring books or something.”

You rolled your eyes. “That’s not exactly a very productive use of their time. I’m supposed to teach them useful things.”

“Fine then. Give them a bunch of art supplies and just say you’re teaching them art. It’s easy, and kids love that crap. That’s useful.”

You paused and considered it. As crudely as she put it, she did have a fair point. You hadn’t focused much on art in any of your previous lessons. Last semester your classes were more math and science based because that was what parents wanted to see, but now that you were halfway through the school year, you felt you could have a little more freedom in what you could do with your students. Maybe the GCA would be more impressed if you started being more creative.

“That doesn’t sound too bad…” you said. “But I don’t know the first thing about art.”

Hana waggled her eyebrows at you. “Why don’t you ask that sexy artist friend of yours to help you out?”

You looked at her with a deadpan expression. “I’m going to smack you.”

“Ha, you see what I did there? That was such a smooth transition. You could spend more time with him that way.”

You shook your head. “Whatever you’re trying to do, it’s just not in the cards, Hana. I can’t have any distractions. I’m at a pretty good place in my life right now. I’m accomplishing things.”

“If you say so. But just because you’re accomplishing things doesn’t mean you have to rule out love entirely.”

“Love?” you said, surprised. “Who ever said anything about love?”

Hana sighed. “You are hopeless, Mimi.”

Thankfully the conversation ended because the waiter finally delivered your meals. You and Hana spent the rest of the dinner talking about topics unrelated to your love life, or lack thereof, which was a great weight off your shoulders.

It wasn’t like that between you and Jihyun, no matter what Hana had tried to indicate. Once years ago, for a fleeting moment, the thought might have crossed your mind. Perhaps that was the crush Hana had picked up on, but it was barely that. Maybe if you’d found each other at any other time, he might have been someone you could have liked in that way. Maybe even someone you could see yourself with.

But neither of you were ready for each other back then. It wasn’t the right time. He went on to choose his path, then you chose yours, and two years was a very long time to be apart.

Now, you didn’t have the time to find out what kind of people you both turned out to be. You were leaving soon, just as he had done.

How could you fall in love with someone if you could never get the timing right?

That was just the thing: you couldn’t.


	4. Candid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which MC has a chat with some of the boys.

Once you returned to your apartment after dinner, you were ready to finally collapse into your bed and sleep, especially after such a long, eventful day. However, sleep eluded you. You lay wide awake, tossing and turning, your mind running at a million miles a second. You thought about the party, what went well and what didn’t, and what suggestions for improvements you could posit to RFA. You thought about the GCA and made a mental checklist of all the paperwork you had to submit in order to obtain a visa for working abroad…which brought to mind the fact that even before you could start that step in the process, you needed to stop procrastinating on working on your lesson plans for the upcoming semester—which was two weeks away, no less—and you needed to do a good job. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be needing a work visa at all. You let out a groan in the darkness of your bedroom, knowing that these anxious thoughts would never let you rest.

Ever since Hana had suggested your class could focus on art this semester, you couldn’t shake the idea. It  _was_  a good idea, and you were very low on ideas at the moment. The only problem was that you never really considered art as one of your strong suits, so you didn’t think you could excel at teaching it… But Hana was right, children  _love_  doing art. Maybe she was also right about asking Jihyun for a little help…

“Jihyun, Jihyun…” you said out loud, testing out the name. “Jihyun…”

V was a punchy name, short and straightforward. It was a good moniker for a hip photographer. But Jihyun was soft, almost a whisper, a pleasant sound sliding off the tip of your tongue. Now that you thought about it, it suited him better than V ever did.

Part of you regretted declining his offer to have dinner with him because you didn’t know when you’d have the chance to see him in person again. You imagined he’d be busy trying to get resettled into the city. He’d likely want to find a new place to stay. Maybe he wanted to meet up with others he might’ve lost contact with. He’d probably be caught up doing his own thing for a while, and you’d rejected your only chance to catch up with him.

Though, you couldn’t have just canceled on Hana. You had responsibilities, you had your own life. You had to make compromises. Wasn’t that adulthood? You couldn’t just drop everything because someone from your past decided to turn up again.

But… you just really wanted to see him.

You let out a sigh and turned onto your side, frustrated that your thoughts were keeping you awake. You grabbed your phone from the nightstand and checked the time. It was half past midnight.

Might as well check the messenger, you thought. Throughout the evening you’d received RFA app notifications, but you hadn’t been able to check any before now. Opening the app, you logged in and read the past chat logs. Only Zen and Yoosung had been there. Zen had entered the chatroom sometime after he finished his show, and Yoosung was taking a break from LOLOL. Zen told Yoosung about how Jaehee had waited for him outside the backstage door with her girlfriend Soomi (along with a dozen other rabid fangirls clamoring for his attention), and he sent a selfie of the three of them. Zen was the focus of the picture, of course, while Jaehee and Soomi stood together behind him, leaning so that they were in frame. This was the first time you saw what Soomi looked like. She was cute and petite, her blonde hair cropped short in a stylish bob. Jaehee and Soomi had matching poses, both winking at the camera and holding up their hands in a peace sign. They looked like they were having a great time, and you couldn’t feel happier for them.

Zen and Yoosung then spent the rest of the chat lamenting how much they wished they had girlfriends too and feeling sorry for themselves. Your eyes glazed over as you scrolled to the bottom of the chat. By now you knew very well how much the RFA boys, except perhaps Jumin, regretted the lack of romance in their lives. Sometimes it was cute that they had so much love in their hearts that they wanted to share it with someone, but more often than not, it got repetitive and eye-roll inducing, so much that you wished they could just find someone already so they could stop moaning about it.

Once you reached the bottom of the chat, you logged out to the main user interface to check everyone’s status updates. As you looked at the row of user icons, you started to feel like something was missing. The icons felt too big, as if there could be room to fit one more comfortably among them.

Then you realized why: Jihyun’s icon was missing. It had been missing for a long time, actually, but now that he was back in the country, it felt wrong not to have him in the messenger.

After Jihyun left to go overseas, Jumin asked Seven to revoke his access for security purposes. He wouldn’t have had time to log into the messenger on his travels anyway, so there’d been no point in keeping his profile active. Even though you were about to travel abroad yourself, you couldn’t see yourself staying away from the messenger for too long. RFA had become like family to you, and you’d want to keep in touch no matter how far away you went.

You wondered if Jihyun still had the same phone he used two years ago, or if he’d deactivated his service altogether. Come to think of it, since he wasn’t on the messenger, you realized you had no way of contacting him.

A window popped up on your phone screen indicating that a new chatroom had been opened. You looked at the time–it was almost one o’clock in the morning. Who could be online at this hour?

You entered the chatroom. Seven greeted you.

> **707:**  Hello, pretty lady!
> 
> **MC:**  Seven, you’re still awake.
> 
> **707:**  Yup. So are you, I see.
> 
> **MC:**  Can’t sleep.
> 
> **707:**  Me neither. Still reeling from the high of the party?
> 
> **MC:**  lol sort of. I got a lot on my mind right now. How was your evening?
> 
> **707:**  Fine fine. It was pretty good actually!
> 
> He sent the emoji of him excitedly shouting “yahoo!”
> 
> **MC:**  Good day at work?
> 
> **707:** Yup! I was super productive. Got everything done in record time… I see Zen and Yoosung are complaining about being single again. SMH. They’re just jealous that Jaehee has more game than them.

You laughed out loud. Sick burn, Seven.

> **MC:** You’re not wrong, lol. Jaehee can be very sweet and charming when she has the chance to relax every once in a while. I’m happy that she and Soomi found each other.
> 
> **707:**  They wouldn’t have met each other if you didn’t push Jumin to give Jaehee a vacation.
> 
> **MC:**  Yeah… That’s true…
> 
> As if summoned, Jumin Han entered the chatroom.
> 
> **707:**  WHOA that’s creepy, dude.
> 
> **Jumin Han:**  What are you talking about? Good evening, MC.
> 
> **MC:** haha hey Jumin...that is a little creepy.
> 
> **Jumin Han:**  ?
> 
> **707:**  We were just talking about you.
> 
> **Jumin Han:**  I see. I just read the log.
> 
> **MC:**  I think you’ve read enough books on witchcraft that you’re starting to become a witch yourself, Jumin. Speak of the devil, and all that.
> 
> **707:**  Hehe where’s your broom, witch boy?

You didn’t ask Jumin what he was doing up so late because he was always awake at this hour, either spending time with Elizabeth the 3rd or doing business with investors and companies in different timezones. On the rare occasion that you had a bout of insomnia, he would be in the chatroom, keeping you company until you finally fell asleep.

> **Jumin Han:**  Will Yoosung and Zen ever get tired of complaining about not having significant others?
> 
> **MC:**  Probably not. Though, I feel like once they do get girlfriends, that’s all they’ll talk about on here.
> 
> **Jumin Han:**  You’re probably right. I don’t know which is worse.
> 
> **707:**  Jaehee is pretty modest about her relationship. They should act like her! Speaking of Jaehee, as I was saying before Jumin interrupted us with his creepy black magic, I think Jaehee has you to thank for meeting Soomi, MC.
> 
> **MC:**  Oh, that’s more credit than I deserve. I just yelled at Jumin.
> 
> **707:**  lmao you did yell at him

Well, you had typed in all caps in the chatroom, which was just as good as yelling. A few months ago, Jumin had swamped Jaehee with so much work that Jaehee broke down crying on the phone with you. You felt so awful and helpless at first, but after you did your best to console her and hung up, you decided that the only way to fix the problem was to go straight to the source.

Jumin was unreceptive to your suggestion at first, which you’d expected, but once you laid out all the reasons why it was a good idea to give her a break and why she deserved one, his cold, distant attitude started to irritate you. You tried to be civil, but the man was as stubborn as a mule sometimes. So you snapped and capslocked on him. Then once you said your piece, without warning, you logged out of the chatroom and called his phone to tell him off some more.

> **Jumin Han:** I’ll admit I’ve never been yelled at like that before.
> 
> **MC:**  I didn’t *yell*.
> 
> **Jumin Han:**  You gave me a very stern lecture.
> 
> **MC:** Well, Zen yells at you on here all the time.
> 
> **Jumin Han:**  I correct my previous statement—I’ve never been yelled at like that by someone whom I respect.

You knew that was high praise coming from someone like Jumin Han. Sometimes you couldn’t help but have the utmost respect for him too. After the incident, you learned that Jumin had been so stressed due to his father’s current romantic engagements and the prolonged absence of his best friend, and he had taken it out on his assistant. You felt bad for yelling at him, and you apologized to him personally on the phone the next day.

After that, he decided to give Jaehee three weeks of vacation. Jaehee was resistant at first, but you convinced her to take the offer. She spent those weeks off the messenger and met Soomi at one of her favorite coffee shops downtown. They hit it off rather easily, and the rest was history.

> **Jumin Han:**  Anyway, I am glad that Jaehee has found someone she cares about deeply. It seems to have made her more motivated in her work.
> 
> **707:**  …
> 
> **MC:** sigh
> 
> **Jumin Han:**  What? It’s true.
> 
> **707:**  Only you would make something that’s supposed to be romantic into something totally not;;
> 
> **Jumin Han:** I don’t understand romantic relationships myself, so I see no point in commenting on it.
> 
> **MC:**  I guess I can understand where you’re coming from. I’ve had enough of talking about romance for one evening.
> 
> **707:**  Oh?

Seven sent his heart eyes emoji.

> **707:** Who else are you talking about romance with, MC?

He sent the same emoji again.

“Oh crap,” you said to your screen. Suddenly the whole awkward conversation you had with Hanacame back to you. You couldn’t very well tell Seven or Jumin that you and Hana had talked about Jihyun. You had to play it cool.

> **MC:** Oh… I just had dinner with Hana tonight. She told me all about her new boyfriend.

Seven sent his gasping emoji.

> **707:** The hot new actor Hojin Park! He and Hana were spotted smooching down in the Maldives last week!

Again with his heart eyes emoji.

> **MC:** …Are you stalking my best friend, Seven?
> 
> **707:** It’s not stalking when paparazzi pictures of them are posted on every celeb gossip site!
> 
> **MC:** I am not going to talk gossip about my own friend. If I did, you’d probably try leaking it to the media for a quick buck.
> 
> **707:** They pay a lot of money for ~insider info~ you know.

You sent an emoji that depicted you giving a very unamused side-eye.

> **707:** Fine, fine. I won’t ask about Hana’s love life. You need to lighten up, MC. Maybe you need a l-o-v-e interest of your own, eh?

The heart eyes. Again. You dropped your head into your hand. Why was everyone so hung up on romance this evening? You needed a change of subject, quick.

Thankfully, Jumin seemed to have the same idea.

> **Jumin Han:**  I think this conversation has derailed quite a bit.
> 
> **MC:** Thank you! Can we talk about something else, pls?
> 
> **Jumin Han:** I actually came onto the messenger to make a request of you, Seven.
> 
> **707:**  Hmm, ok. What is it?
> 
> **Jumin Han:** I’d like you to grant Jihyun access to the messenger again.

Your phone almost slipped out of your hand.

Jihyun...on the messenger again? Weren’t you  _just_  thinking about that only minutes ago?

> **MC:** Oh?
> 
> **707:** Oh, I didn’t even think of that. Does he want to get back on?
> 
> **Jumin Han:**  No, but I imagine he’d like to be, once he gets a new phone, that is. He deactivated his old phone some time ago, and he needs to get another one first. I’ll pass on the information once it’s available.
> 
> **707:** …Do you think it’s a good idea?

Seven’s question took you aback. Why wouldn’t it be a good idea? You asked him what he meant.

> **707:** …never mind. It’s nothing. When he gets a new phone, let me know, and I’ll add him back onto the messenger.

You didn’t know what to say. Where had his sudden hesitance come from? You would have thought Seven would be one of the more enthusiastic about his return. You remember Seven once telling you that he considered Jihyun almost like a father to him despite their relative close age gap. He trusted him more than anyone. In fact, back when you first met the RFA, you noticed there were secrets that Seven and Jihyun had kept between only them. Seven had come to Jihyun’s rescue at Mint Eye, after all.

...That was two years ago, though. The more you thought about it now, the more you realized that since then, Seven hadn’t spoken much about Jihyun at all. He certainly never brought him up in the chats of his own volition, and whenever someone else would mention him, he didn’t have much to say.

But he seemed happy to see Jihyun at the party earlier, didn’t he? Well, now that you thought about it, perhaps he wasn’t so much happy as he was shocked and…confused. Almost as if he had truly believed he never would see his old mentor ever again.

 _“We have a lot to catch up on, I think,”_  Jihyun had said. And Seven had agreed.

There was something tense about the exchange, some underlying thoughts and feelings that you couldn’t begin to decipher. That must have been what bothered Seven now. What was the missing link between them?

> **MC:** You ok, Seven? You sound weird.
> 
> **707:**  I’m fine. Gotta go, though. Long day.

He signed out of the chatroom before you could type another message.

> **Jumin Han:** …
> 
> **MC:** Is it just me, or did something sound off about him? Does Seven not want Jihyun back on here?
> 
> **Jumin Han:** He seemed hesitant about it at the very least.
> 
> **MC:** Why? You don’t think it’s because he doesn’t trust Jihyun, do you? I know he had trouble with keeping secrets from everyone, even to Seven, but he just doesn’t seem like that kind of person anymore…

You weren’t sure if that were entirely true, but everything you knew about what he’d gone through seemed to indicate that Jihyun had had enough secrecy for one lifetime. The man you saw at the party didn’t look like someone who would harbor any secrets.

> **Jumin Han:** I agree. I’ve been with him all evening, and he is definitely changed.
> 
> **MC:** …wait. You’ve been hanging out with Jihyun?
> 
> **Jumin Han:** Yes, he’s with me right now.

“What?” you said aloud. Jumin had been chatting with you all this time and Jihyun was with him?

> **MC:** Really? Where are you?
> 
> **Jumin Han:** At my penthouse. I invited him over as a guest, since he currently has nowhere to stay.

You were typing to ask what he was doing, but your fingers froze over the screen when a picture popped up in the chat.

This time, your phone actually did fall out of your hands...and landed right onto your face, since you were lying in bed. You let out a pained shriek and massaged your nose. Then you jolted up into a sitting position and looked back at your phone.

Jihyun was in the photo. He was standing next to the dining table, across from where Jumin seemed to be sitting. He was pouring himself a glass of red wine. You could tell it was a candid picture because Jihyun’s eyes appeared as though he’d looked into the camera just as it was being taken, his brows raised in a half-expression of surprise. It was cute, actually. But that wasn’t what got your attention.

What got your attention was the fact that his hair was wet, sticking to the left side of his face. He had a towel draped over his shoulders, and he wore gray lounge pants and a white tank top...

> **MC:**  …
> 
> **Jumin Han:** He just got out of the shower. He’s jet lagged, so that’s why he’s still awake, if you were wondering.

You were actually wondering why his bare arms looked appealingly firm and smooth, and why his tank top clung so tightly to his slender but lean torso…but you weren’t going to type that.

> **MC:** Um, thanks for the pic haha
> 
> **Jumin Han:**  I thought I should prove to you he was in fact here.
> 
> **MC:**  You didn’t need to do that lol. I believed you.
> 
> **Jumin Han:**  He’s asking me who I sent the photo to.
> 
> **MC:** Oh...what did you tell him?
> 
> **Jumin Han:** You.

You blushed. Should you take a selfie of yourself just to make it fair? You couldn’t do that. You probably looked like a mess after tossing and turning in bed for a few hours… Wait, why did you care what you looked like? You’d sent less than flattering pictures of yourself through the messenger before.

> **Jumin Han:**  I need to go. Elizabeth the 3rd should be put to bed soon, and I’m going to keep Jihyun company.
> 
> **MC:**  Okay. Tell Elizabeth the 3rd hello for me.

You debated whether you should add another line. Oh, why not?

> **MC:**  ...and Jihyun, too.
> 
> **Jumin Han:** Will do. Goodnight.

Jumin logged out, and so did you. You lingered in the main UI a little while longer, wondering what Jumin and Jihyun were up to right now, what they were talking about. Jumin must have liked having the chance to catch up with his best friend, especially considering how much you knew he’d missed him and worried after him since he left. You could only hope you got your chance, too.

You went into the messenger’s photo folders. Even though Seven had taken away Jihyun’s access to the app, he kept his photo folder untouched. You opened it and looked at the newest picture of him. Out of curiosity, you told yourself. Once it expanded across your screen, your heart did a flip in your chest, which was a sensation that utterly confused you. It wasn’t as if you weren’t used to being friends with so many pretty people. Part of the reason why it was so easy for you to initially believe that the RFA were AIs in a dating simulator was because they were all too good-looking to be real. Even now, you would catch yourself admiring just how beautiful Zen looked in his selfies, how well Jumin wore his business suits, how cute Yoosung and Seven were in an adorably nerdy way. Even Jaehee was exceptionally gorgeous.

Yet somehow none of them made you react the way you reacted to this picture of Jihyun. What was happening?

You reasoned it was because you’d never seen him like this. So candid, so...underdressed. You felt as if you shouldn’t be even be looking at it.

_Get a grip, MC._

You exited out of the app, tossed your phone onto your comforter, and collapsed onto your pillow, trying desperately to wipe the image out of your mind so you could finally, finally, get to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally an update! October was kind of a busy/stressful month, so I apologize for the wait. Thanks so much to everyone who’s been reading/liking/commenting on this fic so far. It means a lot to me. <3


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